judig

Trying to decide on budget accommodations in Florence for trip next June. I read in a major guidebook that the area around the Termini and Santa Maria Novella is the center of major drug dealing late at night and should be avoided then. Is this a realistic portrayl of the area? I'd like to stay at the Peterson B&B (which several of you have highly recommended), but don't want to put my family at risk if we return to the B&B late in the evening! Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Thanks!

nocinonut

There have been alot of threads on this subject, put in a search. I read that Ira has stayed near the train station and seemed to recommend the area.

IMHO the area in front of the station is pretty unkempt and I wouldn't want to walk there at night.

Try the otraArno area, it is safe and inexpensive if you don't get any other answers on this.

Joe_in_Silver_Spring

We stayed less than half a block from the square in front of Santa Maria Novella (and had a great view of this remarkable building) in 2001. The square is a little seedy but the area seemed perfectly safe. If you're looking for a pristine neighborhood then it's probably not the right place, but if you have a little tolerance for mild urban grit it's fine. Be sure to visit the church. In addition to Massacio's Trinity and a crucifix by Giotto, the murals behind the altar are pretty extraordinary.

ira

Hi jud,

>Is this a realistic portrayl of the area? <

Not really.

My Lady Wife and I walked at night from the train station to the B&B Peterson about 9 times with no problems at all.

The Via L. Alamanni and the Via G. Monaco are wide, well-lighted streets.

The train station area is patrolled by police.

sassy27

Hi judig!

Back in 2003, I stayed at the Paris hotel (Via Dei Banchi) located near the train station and didn't have any problems with it's location. I recall going to the train station to buy a phone card and to use the ATM several times at night and didn't feel threatened. I however, never went alone. My traveling companions always went for the walk with me. I can't remember the exact time we would get back to the hotel but I do know a couple of times it was after 11 pm.

Hope this helps.

judig

Hmmm... otraArno area... any recommendations for good inexpensive accommodations? We need a quad room for a family of 4 (or 2 doubles).
Thanks again!

Eloise

That should be Oltrarno.

Here is a link to two hotels in Oltrarno:

http://www.firenze-oltrarno.net/english/info/hotel.html

There are many others.

mulifat

We just returned 2 weeks ago and stayed in Santa Maria Novella. No problems whatsoever, and would stay there again. Less touristy than much of Florence, and a real Italian neighborhood. Go for it!

Joe_in_Silver_Spring

We stayed at the Hotel Vigne or Vigna (I think it's on the Fodors list of hotels in Florence). Good price and big room.

isabel

I stayed a block from the train station (at the Hotel Desiree on Via Fiume) this summer. I was even alone - it was my first time traveling without my husband or a female friend, so I was concerned with safety and I had no fear whatsoever in this area. It is not a MAJOR drug dealing area. Directly in front of the train station there might be an occassional group of people you wouldn't want to get involved with. But it is not like there are large groups of them all over the place. It is a city after all. And by "late at night" perhaps they mean 2 or 3 in the morning. Do you really plan to be out that late. Certainly at 11-12midnight there were still plenty of tourists and families out and about (at least in July).

In general I felt very safe in Florence, even alone, even at night. I didn't feel any safer in any other area.

lesliec1

Stayed this summer at B&B Cassia which is owned by the same people as Peterson and is just a few blocks away from it. My kids and I walked past the train station at all hours of the night and never felt afraid. If I had been alone, maybe I'd have been more afraid, but even then I wouldn't have been very concerned. We were careful to keep our money out of sight. I see more drug deals going down in broad daylight in Phila. then I saw anywhere on our trip to Europe.

SeaUrchin

I don't like the train station area at night, whether the people are dealing drugs or not, I don't like to walk by the area in front on the station at night. We went to a restauraant in that area and when we closed the place we had to step around people lying on the street. Maybe others here have more tolerance than I do, or the back or side of the station is better, but I would stay in another area. Look on venere.com or slowtrav.com, there are alot of neighborhoods on the other side of town where I would rather stay.

I think also for a guide book to mention it, I would believe them, they rarely put that sort of warning out.

ezlivin

Find a place near near the Duomo. The area around the SMN has too many seedy characters hanging around day and night.

This spring, my wife and I returned from a daytrip out of Florence and had to walk from the train station to our hotel near the Duomo when people "lounging" and lying around the streets kept asking for money ("they kept saying "monetta&quot as we waited for the green light to cross. We ignored them and they just laughed after we crossed.

We took daytrips from SMN and never saw any police patrolling the area.

ira

>...we had to step around people lying on the street. <

Sounds like NYC, DC, LA, ....

>...We ignored them and they just laughed after we crossed.<

That doesn't sound threatening.

>I think also for a guide book to mention it, I would believe them, they rarely put that sort of warning out. <

I must respectfully demur. If everyone followed the advice of the guide books, no one would visit Naples or stay near the train stations in any city in Europe, and as we know, they do.

ezlivin

"That doesn't sound threatening." ???

The only reason that didn't sound threatening is because we ignored them . I mean, what would have to happen to you in a foreign land in order to feel threatened? What would have happened if I didn't ignore them and they went a little farther by putting their hands on my wife's purse?

I live in NYC and I am approached by individuals, NOT a gang like they do in SMN, asking for money. Depending on how I feel about the person, I either dole out or I don't and then move on. I know my way around NYC and don't feel threatened in similar situations because of my familiarity with the streets and the city in general.

Don't get me wrong - I love Florence. However, I have to admit that SMN train station area is a dump relative to Oltrarno or even around the Duomo. It's one of the rare places where there is a sign to be aware of pick-pockets, where there seem to be concensus on this and other message boards on the seedy characters ALWAYS loitering around, and where ALL guidebooks seem to warn travellers about.

It's an area where if you happen to be a tourist and passing by, just walk quickly and away. Unlike the Duomo or the all squares from the Duomo to the Ponte Vecchio, one can and should leisurely wander about. I wouldn't advice to do this in the vicinity of the train staion, IMHO.

mulifat

You need to make a distinction between staying vey near the train station, or the square of Santa Maria Novella. The square itself is a few minutes walk from the train station. The square itself, especially the side of the Square furthest from the train staion, is fine, with great streets and terrific restaurants. In fact we prefer that area to the Duomo area.

dan_woodlief

Yes, the area right in front of the station can be seedy, buy I have felt that way about nearly every train station area I have ever visited. However, as others have said it is just fine as you get a little away from the station. We stayed right by the church and had a quiet room with shower for around $60 per night. I would definitely do it again. It was also super convenient for an early train out of town and a late arrival to Florence, but I chose the location primarily for the price.

SeaUrchin

Ira, when I was helping young relatives research for places to visit it was hard to find a guidebook that wasn't politically correct and would actually state a seedy part of town to avoid.

I wouldn't walk around some of the streets of LA at night that is for sure and I live here so I know which ones they are. I would hate to see a tourist walk in those areas at night. The same as when I leave LAX at night and see tourists in rented convertables head off down side streets towards the Southern Beaches.

In Firenze I would rather be carefree and stay in another part of town, but that is just my opinion.

ira

Hi guys,

Lets keep in mind that none of us has spent enough time in every portion of any city to be able to provide a statistically valid discussion of anything, so that the best we can do is to provide the sum of all of our experiences and let the questioners make up their own minds.

CarlosSandoval

I never had any problems in Florence, nor I'm not familiar with the close surroundings of the train station itself; however, I can recommend a fabulous b&b located next to Mercato Nuovo, and it's reasonably priced. here's their website:
www.relaiscavalcanti.com